The Logan Film Festival -- which just wrapped up its third year -- has set a goal to make people in that area more excited about filmmaking. In order to do this, it seeks high-quality films from Utah and around the world.
I had the opportunity to be a judge for the student shorts category of the festival. The festival e-mailed films that ranged from 10-30 minutes, and I rated them on a scale of 1-10. In exchange for this, I was able to go to the festival for free and see what other great films there are. There were a lot of showings, and I was only able to see some of the feature-length films.
Ephraim's Rescue: 3.5 out of 5 stars
The event kicked off with a showing of Ephraim's Rescue, a film that has been available on DVD for over a year. The reason this film was shown -- according to an article in "The Utah Statesman" -- was it would appeal to a conservative audience present in Logan, Utah.
This film is based on the true story of a Mormon named Ephraim (Darin Southam), a humble, passionate man who converted to the church around the time many people of that religion were migrating to Salt Lake City, Utah. He seeks every opportunity to serve other people in any way he can. While doing good things, he performs miracles similar to what Jesus Christ did in the New Testament. Because he had received messages from God, he prepares himself for his greatest act of service yet: rescuing a group of pioneers who left too late in the season. Many of these people have been killed because of the harsh weather conditions that they have to continue enduring.
"Ephraim's Rescue" is in no way a perfect film, but considering its budget, it is well-done. It was written and directed by prolific Mormon filmmaker, T.C. Christensen, who has some good moments of dialogue. Ephraim is a relatable character in that he is not perfect even though he has done a lot of good. As someone who is a Mormon, I enjoy the message that being religious is more about helping everyone than being perfect.
There are some criticisms I have about this film, and about a lot of Mormon films. It was definitely geared towards members of the church and not so much to other people. For someone who knows nothing about the religion, it can be heavy-handed and confusing at times. While some of the dialogue is well-written, it is also a little wooden at times, and the film depends too much on a voice-over narration. Furthermore, the pacing is a little slow at times.
A trap a lot of Mormon filmmakers get into when writing is when people talk about why they joined the church. In this film, Ephraim's brother does this and he sounds crazy. He sounds like a robot who was programmed to say certain things rather than say it from the heart. If any Mormon filmmakers read this, please take my advice and work on the dialogue of these scenes.
20,000 Days on Earth: 4.3 out of 5 stars
This film headlined the Logan Film Festival this year. It won best directing and best editing at the Sundance Film Festival, which was well-deserved. There are a lot of very interesting shots throughout this film that are meaningful to what is going on.
Nick Cave is a singer/songwriter who does not write for a very broad audience. He writes for himself and for anyone who would be interested. This film is a semi-documentary set in the 20-thousandth day of his life. It features heavy, thought-provoking dialogue, which makes it worth watching, but it bogs the experience down a little. Like Cave's music, this film was not made to be entertaining but to expose people to deep thoughts. See my full review in "The Utah Statesman."
Jammed: 4 out of 5 stars
Evan (David Bly) and Rachel (Leah Rudick) are going to a music festival where a major band will play. It attracts the hippie culture, and they are doing a documentary about it. Everything goes wrong when the camera equipment is stolen and Rachel's wild ex-boyfriend, Mike (Chris Roberti), shows up.
This film is both hilarious and brilliant. There are a lot of gags involving the craziness of hippies while maintaining respect for the peace-loving aspect of the culture. The intelligence of the writing shows with a shift in the characters. At the beginning, Evan is somewhat of a pessimist and Rachel is more optimistic. However, in the end, these roles are reversed.
The nature of their relationship is a little unclear in the beginning, and that makes the third act confusing. There should have been a more buildup to explain this. Another aspect that should have been better is Rachel changes a little too suddenly without much reason. It seems random when it happens.
The One Who Loves You: 4 out of 5 stars
This film is both hilarious and brilliant. There are a lot of gags involving the craziness of hippies while maintaining respect for the peace-loving aspect of the culture. The intelligence of the writing shows with a shift in the characters. At the beginning, Evan is somewhat of a pessimist and Rachel is more optimistic. However, in the end, these roles are reversed.
The nature of their relationship is a little unclear in the beginning, and that makes the third act confusing. There should have been a more buildup to explain this. Another aspect that should have been better is Rachel changes a little too suddenly without much reason. It seems random when it happens.
The One Who Loves You: 4 out of 5 stars
Kathryn Grant both directs and stars in this low-budget film about Gloria Bethune, a struggling singer who gets involved with a scam artist named Roy Hutchins (Briel DiCristofaro). She has no idea that the man she is dating has been lying to her the whole time, but her family and friends have a good idea. Despite all the warnings, she is still in love with him.
Even though at surface he is a lying scoundrel, his intentions are not all bad. A lot of the film is about how Bethune hires him as her manager after being led to believe that he managed a very successful singer. Amidst al the lies, he genuinely wants to see her succeed whether it makes him rich or not, and this movie deserves praise for making its characters that complex.
I was able to talk with Grant after watching this film, and she said people have told her they cannot believe how stupid her character is. She does not see Bethune that way. She sees the character as a woman of normal intelligence who was tricked. In fact, she has been in a similar situation and was able to draw her performance from that.
The main criticism about this film is the cinematography is too bright at first. This is something you get used to it after some time. The reason for this probably has to do with the film's lack of budget, so it should not be a reason to avoid this movie.
Amber: 3 out of 5 stars
While on the run in Europe, a drug dealer finds a baby at the scene of a deadly car accident. There were two women traveling with the child who had died, and the man takes the baby so he can go places by posing as a father.
The film is well-made and interesting, but it is unbearably dark. While the main character has some charm, he only uses it to get what he wants. He is a psychopath whose only motivation is to keep himself alive and out of jail.
People who read this blog know that I enjoy darker movies/television shows. One of my favorite series is "Breaking Bad," which has some very dark moments. The difference between that and this movie is the main character in "Amber" has no redeeming qualities at first, whereas Walter White is relatable. The protagonist in this film eventually changes, but it takes a long time for this to happen, and when it does, it is unclear why.
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While on the run in Europe, a drug dealer finds a baby at the scene of a deadly car accident. There were two women traveling with the child who had died, and the man takes the baby so he can go places by posing as a father.
The film is well-made and interesting, but it is unbearably dark. While the main character has some charm, he only uses it to get what he wants. He is a psychopath whose only motivation is to keep himself alive and out of jail.
People who read this blog know that I enjoy darker movies/television shows. One of my favorite series is "Breaking Bad," which has some very dark moments. The difference between that and this movie is the main character in "Amber" has no redeeming qualities at first, whereas Walter White is relatable. The protagonist in this film eventually changes, but it takes a long time for this to happen, and when it does, it is unclear why.
Like my Facebook page: www.facebook.com/criticalchristopher
Follow me on Twitter: @ChrisCampbell02
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